Israel’s Prison Service inaugurated a new wing for female inmates at Givon Prison near Ramla on Thursday, with Commissioner Kobi Yaakovi and senior officials attending. The move marks a significant expansion of women’s incarceration beyond Neve Tirza, which until now has been the sole facility housing female prisoners in Israel.
1+The new wing includes 12 cells with capacity for 50 inmates, alongside dedicated observation cells, a recreation room, and an education classroom—allowing educational activities, treatment, and rehabilitation programs to operate within the wing itself. Prison Service officials said the wing’s opening is designed to strengthen incarceration capacity, expand detention capabilities, and improve services for the female inmate population while maintaining security, supervision, and continuity of care.
Neve Tirza is Israel’s only prison designated exclusively for women and operates at maximum security level. The prison opened in 1959 in a Tegart building in Beit Lid, and in 1968 moved to its current location in the Ramla prison complex, where it continues to operate today.
1+Givon Prison, located near the Ayalon complex, was established in 2004 amid rising inmate numbers and a shortage of detention space. The facility houses detainees and criminal prisoners with remaining sentences of up to five years, alongside foreign nationals awaiting deportation, and has shifted its designation over the years according to Prison Service needs.